


king in the mountain

by dogmouth



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: Aged up characters, Angst, Family Feels, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Major character death - Freeform, Pacific Rim AU, alternative universe, descriptions of violence, mentions of drug and alocohol, past trauma, rick can still space travel but there are no alternative timelines, the rest of the cast while show up in part 2 i'm sorry for the tease, there is so much pain I wish I could say I was sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-02 21:51:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10953426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dogmouth/pseuds/dogmouth
Summary: Pacific Rim AU. “Your mother and grandpa are protecting us from the aliens out there,” Jerry says, folding his arms behind his head, “They may not be coming from above like we all thought, but they’re protecting us, Morty. All of us." Morty looks away from his dad and stares skyward again. “P-Protecting us…” he murmurs, thinking about the Kaiju’s he’s glimpsed on TV, glowing and angry and destructive. He thinks about all the times he’s seen Rick and Beth’s Jaeger, Golden Armageddon, walking down the streets behind a parade and waving to the masses. He thinks about Rick and Beth sitting together at interviews and how alive his mom looks, brave and confident, father at her side.





	king in the mountain

**Author's Note:**

> i've had this AU fleshed out for almost a year now & finally decided i'd just write it out & share it. this is unbeta'd & i promise there will be tons of grammatical errors but this story is the equivalent to my swan song & completely self indulgent but i hope you will enjoy it at least a bit. lots of creative liberties changed from both the movie & the show so keep that in mind!

Morty stares up at the blue-tinted-orange sky where his dad points up and blinks. It was Jerry’s idea, to climb up onto the roof. It’s past midnight and Morty would really rather be back in bed getting some much needed sleep, but he keeps silent because Jerry’s laying a firm hand on his shoulder and puffing out his chest like a proud bird once the operation is a success. Morty looks down at his scraped knees, just shy of drawing blood, from when he had been trying to hoist himself up through the second floor window and nearly falling when his sweaty palms slipped against the plastic. When Jerry had caught him, his legs collided with the brick of their house.

“Wasn't that was a close call!” His dad had said, trying to laugh off the tension in his throat, and Morty had just nodded while trying to calm his racing heart. It’s not the first time he’s ever been in a life threatening situation, but it wasn’t Rick with him this time but  _ Jerry  _ and, well, that made it different. Jerry let out an awkward cough and pushed Morty forward with a hand between his shoulder blades. “Let’s get you, uh, away from the edge and have a little fun, shall we?” As an afterthought, he adds, “And don’t tell your mother about that.”

They’ve been lying on their backs waiting for the sky to darken and the rough texture of the shingles are rubbing Morty’s elbows raw. He knows the sky won’t get any darker than it is now with all the light from the town, but Jerry is already prattling on next to him excitedly. 

“Okay, I know you can’t see exactly everything, Morty, but we can work with what we have. Yeah, this is just fine. Oh, it’s dark enough now, there it is! You see that light over there, the one not twinkling?”

Morty can’t see what he means but nods anyway. “U-Uh, yeah, dad, I see it.”

“That,” Jerry says, sounding unwarrantedly proud again, “That right there is Jupiter.”

Morty knows it’s not Jupiter. Rick taught him all about the solar system. Before Rick was too busy with the Jaeger program, he’d taught Morty what was actually going on in their solar system, in their galaxy, killing any misguided information school had taught him before it was too late. Rick had spoken too quickly for Morty’s young, ignorant brain to fully follow like Rick kept forgetting not everyone had a genius mind like him. But Morty had soaked up the information like a sponge, desperate for Rick’s approval, like he was trying to prove himself. 

Still _is_ trying to prove himself, but Rick’s not here right now. 

Morty’s naive enough to not correct his dad, aware of his insecurities, so he lets him have this moment of superiority, knowing that’ll end as soon as the front door opens when Beth and Rick return. He’s not young enough, however, to not notice the lack of respect Jerry holds in this family.

“And over there is…” His voice falters, suddenly uneasy and glances over at Morty. “Right, that’s Charmeleon, one of the oldest constellations in history.” He means Chamaeleon and thinking of Ursa Major, but Rick had told Morty humankind was too stupid to remember which constellations they’d found first so that’s probably not even true, anyway, but might as well let civilization have it. 

“Your mother and grandpa are protecting us from the aliens out there,” Jerry says, folding his arms behind his head, “They may not be coming from above like we all thought, but they’re protecting us, Morty. All of us. And I know your grandpa and I have our  _ differences _ .” He clears his throat and Morty rubs his elbows uncomfortably. “But he’s doing something responsible for once, and doing it for his family, so I guess I should let some things go.” 

Morty looks away from his dad and stares skyward again. “P-Protecting us…” he murmurs, thinking about the Kaiju’s he’s glimpsed on TV, glowing and angry and destructive. He thinks about all the times he’s seen Rick and Beth’s Jaeger, Golden Armageddon, walking down the streets behind a parade and waving to the masses. He thinks about Rick and Beth sitting together at interviews and how alive his mom looks, brave and confident; finally fulfilled with her father at her side. 

-

A year later Morty can’t tear his eyes from the tv screen as a Level 3 Kaiju sinks its claws into Golden Armageddon’s cockpit and ranks down. The wires look like spilling guts. The Jaeger staggers, shockwaves firing from it’s God-like face like molten tears. Morty feels like he’s being gutted, too, doesn’t want to witness the fear that burns inside his stomach late at night, but he can’t look away. 

No one has time to react when the Kaiju bites down on the right side of the damaged cockpit. Beth’s side. The newscaster's voice has gone silent as Morty and everyone else can only watch in detached horror as the giant alien chews through the steel and swallows.

He hears Summer screaming next to him but the growing white noise invading his head tunes her out. Jerry’s a crumpled mess on the floor, praying to some God Morty knows has never been in existence that they’ll be okay, that Beth has to be okay, Oh, God, please let her live, I can’t loose her, take Rick, I don’t care, but not Beth. 

Morty watches as Golden Armageddon, broken and bleeding just like them, grabs the Kaiju by the throat with both of its hands and squeezes and the scene becomes one of brutal voyeurism Morty can’t tear his eyes from. Morty images the sounds of Rick’s screams as the Kaiju is eliminated by raw emotion as it’s ripped open, entrails being pulled and torn apart. The fight finally ends when there’s no more Kaiju to spread and Golden Armageddon has half an arm left. The machine takes a step before falling face first into the rubble, unmoving and destroyed.

Beside him he hears on repeat: Oh, God, please not her.

-

The phone rings not soon after the broadcast.

They ask Jerry what he’d like to do for Beth’s funeral. Morty can hear the officer's voice feinty from the phone where he stands around the corner. 

“She was a treasure, Mr. Smith, and it’ll take some time for the program to move on from her loss. Do you know when you and your family can come see Rick Sanchez-”

Jerry slams the phone back onto the receiver. 

-

At the wake they only need half a casket. Morty wonders where the rest of his mom is while the half that’s here now has the same serene look when Morty would find Beth accidentally napping on the couch. When his stomach starts to clench thinking about what would she look like if he opened the lid; whether or not she'd be sewn closed like a sack or emptied, hollowed out. Morty swallows the rising bile and walks outside. The fresh air is sharp down his throat when he takes a deep breath, drastically different compared to the stuffy building full of distant family members, military personnel, and the faint stench of Beth’s rotting corpse. 

Maybe he should go look for Summer or Jerry, knowing he’s not the only one suffering, but Morty’s thoughts are harshly interrupted when he sees Rick standing in the grass. His back is to Morty and the tail ends of his cigarette smoke curl and disappear above his head. Morty hasn’t heard from him since the day Beth’s death was televised for the world to watch. Taking a step forward, Morty freezes when Rick reaches into his coat and pulls out his flask, tossing the cigarette butt and unscrewing the cap with practiced ease. He tips the entire contents back and his throat moves with every cheap pull.

“R-Rick-” Morty starts, stumbling on his name. He stops because he doesn’t know what to say.  _ Please tell me she didn’t die in pain. I’m worried about you. Come home. I can’t deal with this. You were supposed to take care of her.  _ Rick never gives but Morty’s on the verge of falling apart and he needs help being put back together.

Instead all he gets is Rick pocketing his flask once it’s empty, not turning around as he says, “Fuck off, Morty,” and walks away from the funeral home, from Morty, from Beth.

“Rick!”

A flash of green is his only response.

-

At eighteen, a year after they put Beth in the ground, Morty signs up for the Jaeger program. Summer decides to go to the neighboring engineering school. Jerry sells the house and buys a condo so he can be closer to his kids. They talk about it once they finish moving Jerry in, lying on their backs in an empty bedroom.

“We all know you both get your brains from your Mother,” Jerry said, misery behind his chuckle and Morty feels his throat go tight, “I trust you both, but for the love of all that is holy just be careful! I may be close now but you know how my car gets when I go over 40 if there’s an emergency.”

“Dad,” Summer starts, tears in her eyes but still manages to pull a convincing eyeroll, “We’ll be fine. Plus you’re the reason the fire department doesn’t come here anymore, remember?”

Suddenly they’re all laughing, then hugging, then Morty feels his face start to get wet and Summer’s shoulders are shaking and Jerry is covering his eyes. They hold each other and crack open, taking comfort in knowing that they’ve got one another to smooth over the gaping wounds that are now a brand to the Smith name.

Morty walks over to Summer’s car once they say their goodbyes. Summer is lagging behind, probably making sure Jerry knows his emergency contacts, when Morty sees Rick. He’s a ghost that won’t leave Morty which is just another thing Morty now has to live with.

He wants to ask Rick to explain why he’s got his back to him again, a small detail to anyone but Morty who knows the meaning it his unspoken vulnerability. ‘What’s the guilt feel like this time, Rick?’ Morty thinks. Instead he asks aloud, “Why won’t you come back?” 

Rick doesn’t answer.

Morty knows he never will.

When he blinks, his grandfather is gone and Summer calls out his name.

-

Morty doesn’t see much of Summer once both of their official programs start. There’s physical training, mental training, memorization, more physical training, extra training for some (like Morty) who weren’t pictured for the program. Every night once Morty gets back to his bunk, collapsed on his bed drenched in sweat, he texts Jerry and Summer that things are going great. He adds a smiley face to make up for the bruises that line his arms and legs. The light from his phone illuminates the picture of the Smith family laughing taped to the wall. They were at a barbeque and Rick’s there, too, pointing and nearly doubled over laughing at Jerry who squirted some kind of sauce all over his shirt. Summer’s taking a photo, trying to hide her giggles and Morty looks at himself clinging to Rick’s lab coat with a giant smile on his face. Morty visits home a lot when he’s not training and it’s more for Jerry’s sake than his. He knows his dad is a mess more than he lets on and Morty didn’t think it was possible to see his dad in an even more pathetic state, but, well. He visits home a lot. 

Sometimes, when Summer and Morty finally have time to talk to each other, he tries to ask her if she’s seen Rick around. She graduated first and got assigned and managed a spot as a Jaeger engineer that sent her straight to HQ. The answer is always the same: every time she asks for him the people around her find an excuse to flee from hearing his name.

He doesn’t need information from her to know how Rick is doing, though. When Morty sits in the dining hall with the few friends he managed to awkwardly make, Rick’s name comes out of nearly everyone's mouth. He disappeared for a year after Beth’s funeral and the people who understood Rick in the simplest way knew that Rick consciously chose the isolate and that meant  _ back off and leave me alone _ . There wasn’t a single trace of him, not even with the connections Morty secretly paid for until like usual Rick fashion, he just portaled into the Jaeger Program Headquarters and announced his comeback. The program ambushed the opportunity to have Rick Sanchez back, the best Jaeger pilot in the galaxy, without hesitation

“Serves them r-right, you know, trusting him,” Morty mumbled, picking at his lunch as he overhears a woman telling a group of soldiers Rick’s latest bullshit that has them nearly drooling over the drama. His replacement Jaeger, dubbed Schrodingers Balls with the name messily spray painted on the back in Rick’s handwriting, had another one of its co-pilots quit. One never stayed too long, humiliated and exasperated at the end of the initial hope that maybe they would be different; Rick was a tyrant, refusing to cooperate with anyones standards but his own, and he made sure everyone knew it. Drift compatibility didn’t mean anything to the smartest mind in the universe with an agenda that consisted of keep most control of his Jaeger. The highest officials let Rick stumble around headquarters, drunk, spewing profanities, passing out where he pleased or was too wasted to make it to his room, and pissing in hallways because they knew they still needed him around. 

Morty would watch clips from the news that featured Schrodingers Balls fighting Level 1 Kaiju’s that still threatened cities under his blanket at 2 a.m. Messy swings. Rushed tackles and too close-to-close hands on combat that was warned in basics. It didn’t take much from anyone to see that Rick didn’t care about the hazards that came with dying. He was reckless with a purpose; as Schrodingers Balls charges all Morty can see is a beast with no matador. A beast that wants to die. He paused the video and stares long at the frozen frame of the Jaeger’s face and tries to find any glimpse of his grandfather in the cockpit until the screen shuts off and there’s nothing but black. Morty still stares at where the screen was until his eyes sting before turning into bed.

-

It takes Morty a single year to be the best in the program. His classmates gawk with surprise as he remembers easier and remembers more than the others. They say they never saw it coming in whispers as they see Morty in combat class, once graceless limbs now arms with lean muscle and shoulders that move with the strength of a large cat, prowling and waiting for the exact moment that leaves his opponents on their backs with his staff at their throats. Morty’s teachers praise him and tell him that someone from HQ would like to have a visit with him but none of this fighting is new to him. Morty has seen wars between galaxies and illegal fighting rings behind bars called a name Morty doesn’t know the language of. Morty has killed people, gods in some cases compared to who you asked. Rick took him out into the night sky and trained him to survive before the Kaiju’s even came from the sea. 

The only difference now is that Morty has an audience.

-

Morty’s lacing up his boots when someone taps his shoulder. 

“Morty Smith?”

He gulps, runs his hands down his thighs before standing to face the voice. It’s an officer and a high ranking one at that as Morty takes note of all the medals adorning her jacket. He meets her even gaze and automatically averts his away, a cowardice habit he’s still unable to break as he crosses one arm across his chest. Confidence is still something that rattles unevenly in Morty’s hands. It’s then that he notices her outstretched one and he quickly shakes it in return with a gulp. “Yes, that’s- um, that’s me. And you are?”

“I’m Captain Kapnos, here as a representative on behalf of the top Jaeger Program officials. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that your incredible performances in the last year have caught our eye.” Morty gives a single nod, shifting his weight uncomfortably. “Your teachers have been in contact with you about our interest in making you a Jaeger Pilot if the neural bridge exercises are adequate, I assume?” Again, he nods. He’d been expecting this to happen eventually once Jerry had been spoken to and Summer had called him with her usual disguised excitement that they would be living in close quarters again. “Excellent. We are prepared to leave now unless you have anything to pack that’s left in your bunker?”

Morty feels the weight of his family photo folded on the inside pocket of his uniform and shakes his head.

“No. I’ve got it- I’ve got everything I need.”

The woman hums and pulls a phone from her pocket, making a half turn while motioning for Morty to follow. “We’ll leave this instant, then. The helicopter ride won’t be long since we happen to be close to headquarters. We should arrive shortly after 2100 hours.” They reach the elevator and she scans her badge before pressing the up arrow. 

As they’re waiting, Morty turns to her with a look of confusion, the realization coming to him just now. “Who’s going to be my copilot? Who am I going to be in there, with, d-during the process? I don’t even have a name- a name to work with.” Morty decided to chalked up this foresight as being the child of Jerry Smith but when Captain Kapnos firmly kept her eyes on her phone, Morty frowned. “U-Um-”

“That is one of many things you’ll be debriefed on once we get to headquarters,” she interrupted just as the elevator doors slid open. Morty mulled over her deflection to himself as the doors closed once more and the pair took to the roof.

-

Of course, Summer was waiting for him out on the helipad. Her ginger hair whipped around her face like the flame of a torch fighting against the wind, but as the helicopter descended closer Morty saw through the pieces of her hair the smile that was for him. 

“Morty!” she screamed, waving her hands above her head. “Morty! You’re here!”

Morty waved through the dirt caked window as the pilot’s voice crackled in his here. “Y-Yeah, Summer, here I am.”

-

As soon as Morty’s elbow is out the helicopter door he’s brought forward into Summer’s hug that gets a surprised huff out of him. “Hey- Summer, you’re going to b-break my spine in two- right in half, jeez.” She’s laughing in his ear and gives Morty a last squeeze for kicks before letting go. Her hair’s longer, muscles more defined, but she’s got the same smirk and determined eye that Morty remembers and he lets out a hiccuped laugh in return when the reality really sets in. He feels like he’s fourteen again. “Uh, wow, this is- it’s great to see you again Summer.”

“You too, loser,” She snaps back, taking a step back to let Morty breathe as the helicopter whines down, allowing their voices to go back to a normal volume. “And what did you expect? Who else is going to make sure these Jaeger’s stay in a usable state without fucking it up. In case you didn’t realize,” she lightly flicks Morty in the nose just as Morty’s escort catches up to him, “The answer is me. Plus it’s not like Grandpa Rick trusts anyone else with Golden’s leftover-”

“Did you just say Rick?” Morty feels something chilly slide down his spine when Summer’s eyes go wide as she belatedly catches her mistake, eyes suddenly desperate as they flick toward the Captain for aide. “Summer, what the fuck-”

“Morty Smith, why don’t I take you to the officials-” Captain Kapnos tries but Morty takes a step toward Summer, resisting the urge to say something sharp. Hands raised in defence, Summer waves them defeatedly. 

“Morty, you know I would have said something but they made me keep quiet about him, we all have to-”

“It’s been almost three years, y-you knew- I’m always asking you th-things and questions and you knew that, Summer!” He might be shaking but Morty can’t straighten out his thoughts as his emotions ravage him, desperate to reach out and grab something to ground him because why would Rick not talk to him, he was just trying to get any response but now-

“Morty.” The sudden shift in his sister’s tone halts his spiral. Next to him the Captain remains silent as she looks at her phone but her fingers have stopped moving. “I’m sorry, okay? The last couple months have been- they’ve been something, Morty. Things are complicated. You know I wouldn’t hide something like this from you if it wasn’t important.” They regard each other, Morty trying to find a lie on Summer’s face and failing when he can see that she’s frustrated just like him.

Morty gives in first, as always, still figuring out how to deal with discomfort. “Alright.”

“You’re ready for debriefing.” Captain Kapno finally spoke, brushing past Morty and giving a nod to Summer as she continues on. “We should be on our way. Summer, we’ll have you show Morty around later. Right now we’ve... matters things to discuss with him.”

As Morty trails after her, Summer stops him. Her calloused fingertips grip his wrist like a warning. “I’m sorry, really. But you’ll understand when you see him.” The way the last word comes out like a sigh, a sigh Morty is far too familiar with. It’s the same sound people make when they realize their regret in relying on him.

“I got it, Summer.” Morty doesn’t wait for her reply, doesn’t wait to see the exasperation on her face, as he stalks toward the massive building looming above him, extending out on both side. The home of the remaining Jaeger’s. The home of Rick.

**Author's Note:**

> beth deserved better please forgive me. please leave a comment on how you thought i wrote the characters or if i should even continue writing it till the end! that'd be.... great


End file.
